South Melbourne FC

The Blue and White Forever

Match Preview – NPL R18 – SMFC v Richmond

Match Preview – NPL R18 – SMFC v Richmond
Marcus Schroen v Richmond

South Melbourne FC hosts Richmond at Lakeside Stadium on Friday night and will be keen to avoid any repeat of the earlier meeting between the two sides in March.

Chris Taylor’s men were leading Richmond 3-1 with half an hour remaining at Kevin Bartlett Reserve earlier this season and with both sides at opposite ends of the PS4 NPL Victoria ladder, the result seemed a forgone conclusion. This was before a combination of Richmond pressure and calamitous South defending saw the home side score five goals to win by the tennis scoreline of 6-3 and inflict South’s first defeat of the season.

South goes into Friday night’s game against Richmond on the back of a 1-0 home victory against FC Bulleen Lions in a scrappy affair at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday, where Marcus Schroen’s goal after 16 minutes maintained its three-point lead over the Bentleigh Greens at the top of the ladder. Three points against Richmond on Friday night will at a minimum ensure a three-point lead over the Greens, who face the Oakleigh Cannons away at the same time that South plays.

Captain Michael Eagar and defensive midfielder Matthew Foschini are both available after serving mandatory one-match suspensions against FC Bulleen Lions, giving relief to a makeshift South defence that did well to keep a clean sheet last Sunday. Tim Mala had an excellent game playing as a makeshift centre-half, whilst Stephen Hatzikostas also had a very good game playing just ahead of the defence. New Spanish signing Manuel Herrero – aka Manolo – was given half an hour off the bench against Bulleen and showed plenty of promise, giving Taylor another attacking option.

Richmond head into Friday night’s game confident after comfortably defeating Melbourne Victory’s NPL team 3-1 at Epping Stadium last Saturday. Jake Barker-Daish scored an excellent goal from a well-taken free kick and will be keen on scoring against his former side like he did back in March. Former South players Bryan Bran and Hamlet Armenian will also be keen to record back-to-back wins against South this season.

Friday night’s match at Lakeside Stadium kicks off at 8:30pm.


SMFC v Richmond – Head to Head (League & Finals)

Matches Played: 21
Wins (SMFC): 11
Wins (REFC): 6
Draws: 4

First match: South Melbourne 6-1 Richmond (3 June 1961, Middle Park)
Last match: Richmond 6-3 South Melbourne (24 March 2016, Kevin Bartlett Reserve)

Biggest Winning Margin (SMFC): 5 goals (6-1 win, 3 June 1961, Middle Park)
Biggest Winning Margin (REFC): 3 goals (2010 and 2016)

Most Goals in a Match (SMFC): (3 June 1961, Middle Park)
Most Goals in a Match (REFC): (24 March 2016, Kevin Bartlett Reserve)

Biggest Finals Win (SMFC): None
Biggest Finals Win (REFC): None

 

NPL Home Away Finals

1961

6-1 4-3

1963

4-2 2-2

2006

2-1 1-0

2007

0-1 3-2

2008

1-0 0-2

2009

3-0 3-1

2010

2-2 0-3

2011

1-0 0-1

2012

1-3 1-1

2013

3-2 1-1

2016

? 3-6

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